On September 9, 1850, California was admitted to the Union as the 31st state under the Compromise of 1850. The gold rush had triggered a rapid increase in population, prompting a push for statehood. California entered as a free state, which upset the balance between free and slave states and intensified sectional tensions. The Compromise included other measures, such as a stronger Fugitive Slave Act, designed to ease conflict between North and South. California’s admission marked a major step in the westward expansion of U.S. political and economic power.
